Archive for October, 2013

Johnny Boychuk suffered an injury crashing into the boards on his third shift of the second period Thursday night against the Ducks. He did not return to the game, as he missed the final 34:39 of regulation and all of overtime. Following the game, Bruins coach Claude Julien offered little update on the defenseman’s status.

“He got hurt when he crashed into the boards,” Julien said. “‘¦ He wasn’t able to come back, and from what my trainers have told me, we’ll know more tomorrow morning. You can’t assess these injuries as far as, ‘It’s a one-week thing, it’s just a one-day, he’ll be better, he’ll be OK tomorrow.’ They always have to let those things settle down a little bit before we get more.”

The Bruins will practice Friday morning, at which point some sort of update could be given.

The Bruins bounced back from a bad start and picked up a 3-2 shootout win over the Ducks on Thursday at TD Garden. Jarome Iginla had the only goal of the shootout, ending a two-game losing streak for the B’s and improving them to 8-4-0 on the season.

Zdeno Chara tied the game with a power-play goal off a pass from David Krejci in front with 2:50 to play. The goal was Chara’s second of the season, and in picking up the primary assist Krejci managed to register at least one point for the 10th time in 12 games this season.

The Ducks got on the board in the first period when a Carl Soderberg defensive zone turnover led to a Devante Smith-Pelly goal just 1:52 into the game. It was a rough first period for the B’s, who were credited with one shot on goal but appeared to have none through the first 20 minutes.

The Bruins found both their legs and more chances in the second period, tying the game on a breakaway goal from Soderberg, but they surrendered a goal to Mathieu Perreault off a Gregory Campbell faceoff loss with 20.9 seconds left in the second, putting them behind once again going into the third period.

Johnny Boychuk left the game in the second period and did not return to the game. He played only three shifts in the second and missed the last 14:39 of the period. The reason for Boychuk’s absence is unknown.

The Bruins will try to make it two wins in a row Saturday when they take on the Islanders in New York.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

— Ryan Spooner, who was called up Thursday, was able to produce in his first NHL game of the season. The 21-year-old earned his first career NHL point, as he got the secondary assist on Soderberg’s goal thanks to his breakout pass to Chris Kelly. He went first in the shootout and was stopped.

Spooner, who was one of the final cuts in training camp but was sent back largely because there wasn’t room for another center on the NHL roster, centered Kelly and Soderberg, with Jordan Caron sitting out as a healthy scratch.

Sabres forward John Scott has been suspended seven games for his illegal check to the head of Bruins forward Loui Eriksson last Wednesday, the Department of Player Safety announced Thursday.

Scott had already served three games prior to his in-person hearing Thursday, so he will miss the Sabres’ next four games and be eligible to return Nov. 8 against the Ducks. He will forfeit $26,923.05 of salary over the course of his suspension. This is the first time the 6-foot-8 Scott has received supplemental discipline for a hit.

Eriksson suffered a concussion on the hit and has yet to resume skating since the play. The injury was taken into consideration when determining Scott’s punishment.

The Bruins recalled forward Ryan Spooner from Providence Thursday. The 21-year-old will be available for Thursday night’s game against the Ducks.

Spooner has two goals and five assists for seven points in eight games for Providence this season. The 2010 second-round pick was one of the team’s final cuts in training camp, but he could find his way into the NHL lineup with Carl Soderberg struggling.

The Bruins didn’t win the World Series or beat the Penguins on Wednesday, as they suffered a 3-2 loss at Consol Energy Center. The loss was the second straight for the Bruins, who now are 7-4-0 on the season.

Chris Kunitz scored on the power play in the second period, giving the Penguins the lead after they never led in last season’s Eastern Conference finals. The Bruins tied it early in the third on a Dennis Seidenberg shot that Patrice Bergeron tipped past Marc-Andre Fleury, but Brandon Sutter made it 2-1 with a sharp wrist shot that beat Tuukka Rask top shelf stick side.

Jussi Jokinen made it 3-1 with 2:02 left in the game, snapping off a shot high stick side to make it a two-goal game, but Jarome Iginla scored his third goal of the season with a one-timer at 18:17 of the third.

Matt Bartkowski was a healthy scratch for the fifth straight game, as he last played Oct. 17 against the Panthers.

The Bruins will host the Ducks on Thursday night at TD Garden.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

— Kunitz’s goal marked the third straight power-play goal the Bruins’ penalty kill has allowed. Furthermore, it meant that the last five goals the Bruins had allowed were power-play tallies for the opposition. Consider that the Bruins began the season having killed off 18 of 20 penalties through the first seven games but have gone just allowed six goals on 12 penalties the last four games.

— Shawn Thornton is a tough player who doesn’t cross the line — something he admits is a very difficult job — but he turned in a bad and dangerous hit in the third period when he shoved Tanner Glass into the end boards on a play in which he was whistled for boarding. Thornton obviously is not a malicious guy, but as Andrew Ference once said, bad hits have to be deemed as such regardless of who commits them.

— Speaking of bad hits, Brad Marchand turned in a not-quite-low-bridge-but-pretty-close-to-low-bridge hit on Kris Letang shortly after Thornton’s penalty. Letang actually was called for a dive on the play, which was a pretty questionable call considering the hit.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

— As the Penguins got used to last spring, Rask was very strong early on. The Bruins’ netminder, who allowed just two goals in the Bruins’ four-game sweep of the Penguins last season, stopped Evgeni Malkin on a breakaway with a pad save after Letang connected with Malkin on a long stretch pass. He also fell on a puck that had bounced off the end boards and came back in front in the first period to keep the game scoreless.

Rask made a good save on Sidney Crosby on a partial breakaway with the game tied in the third, but he didn’t care for Crosby trying to follow up when he had the puck covered. Rask took a decent whack at Crosby, causing a scrum to form.

— Jordan Caron got in his first career NHL fight, dropping the gloves with Robert Bortuzzo in a rather boring bout. Caron only fought once at the AHL level, but it’s good to see him willing to engage himself in any way he can.

Claude Julien was rather honest when asked what Brad Marchand needs to do to snap out of an early season funk that would likely still have him on the third line if not for Loui Eriksson‘s injury.

Marchand was demoted to the third line in favor of Reilly Smith in the third period of the Bruins’ fourth game of the season, but he’s back on Patrice Bergeron‘s line with Eriksson out. Julien said he spoke to Marchand and that skating and work ethic are the two things he needs to improve.

“Yeah, skating,” Julien said Monday. “We talked about that, and we had a real good practice today. He seemed to have a little bit more jump. I think when Brad skates the way Brad can skate, he’s quick. He’s a real fast skater and stuff like that. If he can start using his speed and put a real good work ethic along with that, like a compete level that we know he can, just those two things alone will make a huge difference for him. Today I think he responded well to that.

“I thought he had a real good practice. He was skating better than I’ve seen him skate in a while, so hopefully he continues to work on that part of it and he’s going to be fine.”

Marchand finished second on the Bruins with 28 goals in the 2011-12 season and figured to be in line for a big season as he enters his prime with the addition of Eriksson to his line. It hasn’t been pretty so far, however, as Marchand has one goal, a minus-1 rating and has committed numerous turnovers.

WILMINGTON — Loui Eriksson wasn’t on the ice Monday and won’t be for the time being, but he was at Ristuccia Arena to see his teammates.

Eriksson, who is dealing with a concussion suffered last Wednesday on an elbow to the head from John Scott, isn’t expected to be back on the ice for at least another week, Claude Julien said. Given the uncertainty that surround concussions, it could be longer.

“The good news is that he did show up this morning,” Julien said, “and that’s usually good news when a guy can come in and leave his home and come to the rink.

‘We’re taking it day by day with him. I think you’re probably not going to see him in the next week. He’s not going to skate for the next week, so we’re at that stage right now.’

Scott will have his in-person hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety Tuesday, where his suspension will be decided. Scott has already missed two games and will miss a third Monday.